So, my FIL just did an impulse buy on a '04 Pagsta Choppa. A friend of his had it, got a DUI on it and stopped driving it 2 or 3 years ago. My FIL bought it in a non running, but titled condition for $500. He's a life long gear head and grease monkey, so he had no trouble getting the little scoot scooting again.

It's got a two speed auto transmission, which I'd like to know more about. Can anyone tell me what's going on in that tranny? It's not a straight CVT system since you can feel a definite shift. But, it doesn't act like a regular torque converter tranny since it'll shift up to high gear at a constant speed know matter what the throttle is doing. I guess maybe it just lacks a kick down linkage. The reason I ask is that above about 30 MPH, the bike vibrates badly. It feels like the vibration isn't coming from the engine, but rather the drivetrain.

Oh, and to complicate things further, the bike is a sort of hybrid. The OP bought the bike new in '04 with a 49cc engine. That engine blew and the dealership said that he could either have a 49cc engine in 4-6 weeks when they could get one shipped in or he could have a 97cc engine now. So, it's a 97cc engine coupled up to a 49cc bike.

The other issue it's having is that the bike doesn't charge the battery. I've traced wires and everything looks good up to a little solid state box. I'm assuming it's a combination regulator/rectifier. The wires going to that box are putting out 30VAC at idle, but the battery isn't seeing any increase voltage no matter what RPM the engine is running at. Is there any source for Pagsta electronic parts? Googling the P/N (which I can't seem to find ATM) shows a Peugeot regulator for 22 euros -but nothing stateside.

TL : DR version:
Anyone have any experience with these bikes? Know where I can find info on the tranny? How about parts?

Are you sure that is a 100cc motor? The only transmissions I am aware of for the 100-125cc horizontal engines were a semi-automatic 4 speed. The old QA-50 had a two speed and at 30mph would be wound tight. The motor in that thing is a chinese knock off of honda, it may be out of balance. Personally, $100 would have been plenty for that bike. Parts will probably be hard to find and break downs many!

Like I said, it was an impulse buy. My FIL isn't hurting for money and wanted to help a friend out.

I did some searching and found some specs on the bike. Come to find out that the 97cc engine with a 4 speed manual were the stock configuration. The 49cc engine and auto trans were optional and is how the bike was delivered. I don't know if the 97cc was ever meant to be attached to that tranny - but it is now.

I feared that parts would be hard to come by. I know that I can get a rectifier/regulator that will work with this bike, but I'd have to cut the plug and wire in new connections. Not a big deal, but if I can get the correct stock part, I'd rather go that route.

I believe parts will be relatively easy to find, as it's just another one of many Honda clones. Hell, if you're worried about the engine, you might be able to just drop a new Lifan engine in there (a reputable Honda clone engine maker). It looks like everything except the frame and possibly wheels is just off-the-shelf Chinese stuff, which can usually be had for a song. Looks cool though!

The charging issue is probably due to the little combo rectifier being shot, it also could be due to it not being grounded, as they need a clean ground connection to limit current/voltage to the battery and headlight.

<TABLE id=post17142544 class=tborder border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" align=center><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #575757 1px solid" id=td_post_17142544 class=alt1>This may interest someone here. About a year ago I was travelling through Town of 1770, central Queensland, Australia and........(following is excerpt from ride report I did at the time)

On the way out of town, out of the corner of my eye, something caught my eye, just glimpsed through the trees.

What the !!!!!!! ??????

So, a quick U'ie and back I go, jump through the fence and find
this.

The local "chopper" tour company. Aimed specifically at the young backpacker market. All small engines with "auto" transmissions so they can be ridden with ANY sort of licence. A 2 hour "sunset & kangaroo" will set you back $55.00. He runs every day and there were (I think) 60 starters that day.!
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I believe the motor is a Lifan, or if not, a Lifan will fit it. ALL Lifan engines seem to be Honda knockoffs. I replaced the blown engine in a Honda Passport with a Lifan many years ago, it ran fine and was still running fine when I sold it.

I believe parts will be relatively easy to find, as it's just another one of many Honda clones. Hell, if you're worried about the engine, you might be able to just drop a new Lifan engine in there (a reputable Honda clone engine maker). It looks like everything except the frame and possibly wheels is just off-the-shelf Chinese stuff, which can usually be had for a song. Looks cool though!

Click to expand...

Not really worried about the engine at all. She starts easy and runs nice. It's just the vibration at 35+MPH that seems to be coming more from the tranny than the engine. I guess the answer is to keep her slow, huh? I'm not a scooter guy, but I gotta agree, it's pretty cool looking. I was actually pretty surprised my FIL bought it. He also owns an absolutely mint 1957 Vespa. Talk about a vast difference in bikes!

The charging issue is probably due to the little combo rectifier being shot, it also could be due to it not being grounded, as they need a clean ground connection to limit current/voltage to the battery and headlight.

WoopWoop,
That is awesome. Makes sense too. The PO told my FIL that the bike was built in Australia. I guess that's why they have so many of them there. I wonder if they share any heritage with the Posties? The engines do look the same. I love all the matching jackets. That would be a sight to behold!

Is there a brand name on the old tire? The Pagsta is a Chinese bike, made for Johnny Pag, before he started having 250cc bikes made under the Johnny Pag name. I ran into them a decade or so ago, on moped forums. They were also known as a "mini Harlee" They have not been sold in the U.S. for some time, and it is very possible that nothing else sold here uses that size tire, so nobody is importing them. That doesn't mean they are completely impossible to find however. I found a set of 185/80-13 whitewalls for my '72 Pinto a couple years ago, despite being told they hadn't been made in over 10 years.

Is there a brand name on the old tire? The Pagsta is a Chinese bike, made for Johnny Pag, before he started having 250cc bikes made under the Johnny Pag name. I ran into them a decade or so ago, on moped forums. They were also known as a "mini Harlee" They have not been sold in the U.S. for some time, and it is very possible that nothing else sold here uses that size tire, so nobody is importing them. That doesn't mean they are completely impossible to find however. I found a set of 185/80-13 whitewalls for my '72 Pinto a couple years ago, despite being told they hadn't been made in over 10 years.

Click to expand...

I'll check on the brand name tonight. We're heading out to visit the inlaws this afternoon. I'm fairly certain that they aren't being imported. I pride my self on my strength in google-fu and haven't found anything on this side of the Atlantic. I could import them. It'd only be around $5/tire. But, I'd have to buy 1000 of them!

Yup, those are the same sizes I'm finding at bikebandit and motorcycle-superstore. The 140/70 isn't any taller than the 110/90. And the 3.5 is going to be too narrow and I suspect too short as well. Thanks for the link, though!

I do think I've found a workable solution. I've found a Pirrelli in a 110/100-12. So, it's only 4.33" wide (instead of 4.5), but it's 4.3" tall as well. I'll have to take some measurements on the existing tire to see if it'll be big enough.

I did manage to get the wiring and charging system working on this bike - I'd hate to leave you all wondering!

I found out some interesting things about this bike. The lighting system has 3 positions. Off - no lights at all, Parking - a small bulb in the headlight and the tail light runs off the battery, and On - all lights run directly off the engine.

However, when my FIL bought this bike, the headlight stayed on no matter what position that switch was in.

It took some studying of the schematic, some wire chasing, and some head scratching, but the bike is back to all original and all is working.

There is a yellow wire that comes from the rectifier. It goes to the ON/Off/Parking switch, then to the Hi/Lo switch, then to the head light. But, the PO disconnected the yellow wire and spliced a hot wire directly to the Hi/Lo switch? Why oh why would he do this?

Then, it hit me. When the rectifier went out, the headlight quit working. The PO fixed the symptom by splicing in the headlight - but never bothered to fix the actual problem. Which is also why the battery would go dead after a few hours.

So, with the wires all back to where they should be, the headlight runs off the engine and the rectifier charges the battery.